BitFenix Ronin Review

Up Close: Exterior

Measuring 205 x 483 x 505mm (WxHxD) Like other cases from BitFenix, the front and roof of the new Ronin have been given the soft touch treatment. Silky smooth to the touch there's something inherently "naughty" about how it feels. While the right side of the case is feature free, the left side is dominated by a very large clear high gloss window

BitFenix provide 3 x 5.25" drive bays along with an adapter to convert one into an external 3.5" should you so desire. looking at the space available above the top bay it appears that for just a few mm more BitFenix could have actually placed a 4th bay into the front. Still 3 it is though, which with the impending demise of optical drives should be plenty for anyone. Below the drives a large ventilation panel covers the front intake for up to 2x120mm fans (1 included).

The majority of the case roof is given over to ventilation. Forward of this lies the front I/O with the usual power/reset, audio, 2xUSB2.0 and 2xUSB3.0

Removing the window panel we get our first look at The Ronin's Stealth panel. The contoured plastic panel is easily removed, being held in place by 3 push pins. With the panel in place the system builder can show off the sexiest bits of kit whilst keeping the less attractive under wraps. If you happen to want to show off the entire interior through the large side window, then just pop the panel off and you'll be able to see the lot, drive bays, PSU everything.

As it's not unusual for manufacturers to add a few creases into the rear panel to aid rigidity, we find the rear of the case is remarkably flat. That said the structural rigidity seems un affected. Beside the rear I/O sits the grill for the rear 120mm fan grill. With a 120mm fan included on extract it's mighty strange that BitFenix have thought to also include 92mm fan mounts in this position. Also included are two small grommeted tubing holes should you wish to regress back to the late 90s and mount an external radiator

Whether you like the large window or not is a personal preference, personally I prefer it with the large window and without the stealth cover, but the point is it's nice to have the option. What I'd would like to see is a stealth cover that fits to the window itself, a very thin sheet on the exterior surface of the Perspex that is contiguous with the plane of the metal case side, perhaps held in place from the interior side of the window with small magnetic pads. That way it wouldn't stand out so much. Maybe you could even cut your own shapes???

Hello,
In the build section of this review, you said 'please dont' install a 120mm fan on the bottom of the case just in front of the PSU. why? does it suck dust in from the bottom or something? always which way do you recommend the PSU fan to face?

Hello,
In the build section of this review, you said 'please dont' install a 120mm fan on the bottom of the case just in front of the PSU. why? does it suck dust in from the bottom or something? always which way do you recommend the PSU fan to face?

Thanks

Cause fans in the bottom of a case look tacky and aren't really good for anything. If you lack front intake, then maybe it's time for a new case all together.

It doesn't matter which way the fan faces, a PSU is not really going to run hot. When you do mount it fan-up though, your 8 Pin CPU cable might be just too short. If you mount it fan-down, you can't put your PC on high carpet and you have to clean the dust-filter every now and then.

I'd echo what Feronix has said with regards to the PSU position and add that if you're mounting your PC on a hard surface such as a desk then the PSU can quite reasonably be orientated with the fan facing down, this will also bring the majority of the cables closer to the lower cable management hole on a case. If you're putting your case on carpet then don't do this for reasons already given. All that said, some prefer the aesthetics of having the PSU fan visible inside their case and it could be argued that this cuts down on noise particularly in "silent" builds.

With regards to the lower fan mount on cases, A great many people, myself included just think it looks Fuggly. There's nothing wrong with it as such other than it up sets the aesthetics of a nicely brought together build.

Building a PC is more than just lobbing together the component parts as quickly as you can and hitting the power button. It should be a work of art, something you should be able to look at and admire, and if it's a really good one, it should give you a little fizzy feeling in your underpants.

Cause fans in the bottom of a case look tacky and aren't really good for anything. If you lack front intake, then maybe it's time for a new case all together.

It doesn't matter which way the fan faces, a PSU is not really going to run hot. When you do mount it fan-up though, your 8 Pin CPU cable might be just too short. If you mount it fan-down, you can't put your PC on high carpet and you have to clean the dust-filter every now and then.

Thanks Feronix,

I have just bought a Ronin and recieved all the parts so will start the build today.

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